Activision Blizzard reportedly stated that more than 20 employees have quit the company after complaints of misconduct, and more than 20 employees have been reprimanded. It is reported that the company wrote to employees on Tuesday, providing detailed information about the complaint. Chief Compliance Officer Frances Townsend told the media that the list includes game developers and a few executives, but no board members. Activision Blizzard later published the letter online.
This letter indicates that the company is trying to win the trust of employees and convince them that their loud voices will be heard-before this, there have been a series of lawsuits alleging systematic discrimination and sexual harassment of Activision Blizzard employees.
The company said that after increasing reports of misconduct covering a few years ago to now, they imposed disciplinary actions on the relevant personnel. After investigation, more than 20 people have withdrawn from Activision Blizzard because of various resolved reports, and more than 20 people have faced other types of disciplinary actions.
In addition to dismissal and condemnation, Activision Blizzard stated that it will add 19 full-time employees to its ethics and compliance team (previously three positions have been added), and will triple the investment in training resources. A public commitment to improve compliance.
Townsend served as a homeland security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. She said that an investigation found misconduct in multiple departments of the company. She said employees will be fired if they show bad behavior “patterns” that cannot be resolved through training.
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No matter what your position is, what your job is. If you have some kind of misconduct, or if you are a leader who tolerates a local culture inconsistent with our values, we will take action. Activision Blizzard’s workplace issues were widely publicized in July this year. At the time, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued it to foster a culture of persistent sexual harassment, including obscene, derogatory comments, and other behaviors, and the relevant supervisors were said to be aware of and even encourage these behaviors.
This incident triggered hundreds of employees to go on strike to protest their working environment. Several executives, including Blizzard president J. Allen Brack (J. Allen Brack), then left the company. Activision Blizzard settled a complaint from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last month, but the legal issues did not end there.
The company is currently seeking to postpone the DFEH case, accusing the agency of ethics violations, thereby compromising the complaint. In turn, the California employment fairness regulator also opposed the EEOC settlement, believing that it might allow Activision Blizzard to destroy the evidence in the DFEH case.
Townsend admitted that Activision Blizzard did not meet all the requirements of the protesting employees-their requirements including stopping mandatory arbitration for harassment complaints. But she said that the company will have further changes, and said that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick (Bobby Kotick) gave her a “blank check” for reform. We are committed to making meaningful and positive changes, and this is just the beginning. The letter reads We will share more updated information in the coming weeks and months.